Swarm Traps and Bait Hives

By Steve, on November 20th, 2012

For the ambitious beekeeper, catching swarms in swarm traps is a great way to get started keeping bees. You are not always guaranteed to catch a swarm this way. The chances of tricking a swarm of bees to pick your bait hive instead of a hollow tree, or any other cavity, is a bit of an art. There is more to trapping bees than nailing a box to a tree and waiting. Trapping bees takes time and patience, and even then you don’t catch anything. The wonderful thing about swarm traps is, once the trap is up, you don’t really need to do anything. The only thing you have to do is check it from time to time, and take the hive down if a swarm finds it. This is a great way to get free bees with very little effort, and should be a part of every beekeepers growth strategy.

Swarm Traps/Bait Hives

As with anything in beekeeping there are a thousand ways that people go about trapping bees. Some people use peat pots, some use nuc boxes, and some use standard 10 frame Langstroth boxes for swarm traps. You can literally use anything that you want for a bee trap. I would stay away from anything plastic, the bees don’t seem to like it. Here are the kinds of swarm traps that I have used.

10 Frame Standard Hive/Top Bar Hive – I have had the best luck using old 10 frame hives. The bees really seem to love them especially when they have been used and smell like a beehive. According to a cornell university publication, 40 litres is the suggested cavity size. I really like using regular equipment because once the bees are in the hive all I have to do is take them down. Assuming the bees attach the comb correctly, there is no need to cut the combs.

Peat Pots – I really don’t like using peat pots for swarm trapping. I haven’t had any luck with them. The biggest reason is that the squirrels get at them first. There are a lot of people that use them and swear by them. I’m sure they work fine if you can keep an eye on them. This is a really cheap alternative if you don’t want to invest in any additional equipment and don’t want to hang your best hive boxes 15 feet up a tree. The other reason I don’t like them is that the combs have to be individually cut out and installed into a permanent hive.

Cardboard Box – In my early days of swarm trapping I would use cardboard boxes. I would basically use any box I could get my hands on. Boxes have some of the same issues as peat pots, especially with squirrels. Although, you can put frames in them. My favorite were old apple boxes and Bankers Boxes. The only problem with using boxes is the rain isn’t very nice to them unless you properly prepare them. This method is best used during prime swarming season. Catchings swarms is a numbers game. The more hives you set out, the greater the chance you’ll get a swarm. Boxes are a very inexpensive way to increase your numbers. Below is a link to the Bankers Boxes that I use. You can get 12 boxes for less than 3 dollars a box.

Here is a video that I found of a man putting some boxes together. One thing he doesn’t do, that I do with most of my boxes, is wrap them in plastic. Obviously, these traps are only meant to be out for a short period of time, but the plastic will increase their life significantly.

Baiting Swarm Traps

Bees Wax/Used Beehives – There are a couple of things you can do to entice the bees to your swarm trap. The best way is to take a beehive that has already been used. The box will have propolis, beeswax, and all kinds of smells in it that let the scout bees know that your box is a suitable home. If you don’t have an old beehive the next best thing you can do is take some beeswax, buy some if you have to, and rub it all over the interior of your hive.

Lemongrass Oil – A lot of people, including myself, use lemongrass oil as a lure. This works really well when added to old beehives. Basically you take a little plastic baggie with a few pin holes in it, put a drop or two in the bag and seal it up. Place this at the bottom of the hive. I usually put some on my finger and apply it on the outside of the beehive near the entrance. The hives that I put lemongrass oil in seem to always have scout bees flying around them. I find that it works really well. I have had best luck with the Young Living brand essential oils and have also tried the DoTERRA brand with similiar results.

Queen Juice– Queen Juice is made by taking all your old and or unused virgin queens and placing them in alcohol. The reason this works is because of the Queen Mandibular Pheromone. Most people use a combination of Queen Juice and lemongrass oil. Those who use this method claim it does wonders. I have not tried it yet but plan on trying it in the future. There is also a commercial version available that you can buy.

Commercial Lure – These are lures that you can buy from most bee supply companies. You can buy Queen Mandibular Pheromone(Queen Juice) in little tubes that you place inside the hive. You can also buy Swarm Lure which is Nasonov pheromone. Most people use both Queen Juice and either Swarm lure or Lemongrass oil together. Swarm Lure and Lemongrass oil are chemically similar but lemongrass oil is much cheaper to buy.

The awesome thing about swarm lure is that it is formulated to more closely match the Queen Pheromone. It is also easier to apply to the hive and seems to attract scout bees a lot quicker. There are several different brands available on the market. I have listed two links below to the lures that I am most familiar with.

The biggest part of swarm trapping is finding a good spot to put the hive. This is something you will have to determine yourself and requires a bit of trial and error. Obviously placing the hive where there is known bee activity is important. The best way to get a swarm is to place your swarm traps in an area where you know that bees aren’t being managed. This could be near a lazy beekeepers yard or feral hive of bees.

Once you find a spot you like, you will want to place the hive at least 10-15 feet off the ground. Basically you want the hive at the flying height of the scout bees. I don’t know what the flying height is so I place them as high as I can while still being able to take it down safely. Experimenting and learning from failures is the key to successful swarm trapping.

You will soon find that there are places you always catch swarms and places you never catch swarms. Having several swarm traps out increases your odds, so get as many traps out as possible. If you have a hive box laying around put some frames in it, bait it with lemongrass oil and set it out during swarm season. This is better than letting it sit in your garage.

Swarm trapping is a great way to get started in beekeeping. It isn’t the easiest way to get bees but the knowledge attained while doing it is worth the extra effort. Besides, who doesn’t like free bees? .

If the bees are in a safe location and there are frames with foundation or drawn comb in the hive, you can leave them as long as you want. If you don’t have foundation or any sort of guide for the bees to build comb that you can manage, I would move them as soon as I could after they entered the hive. They build comb really fast and things get messy quick.
I usually move mine within a day ore two of the swarm entering the swarm trap because I am worried about bee thieves. Otherwise, I would leave them alone until they start bringing in pollen and are booming. A few years ago I left a new swarm in one of my traps because I was busy. They were in the hive about a week before I went to check on them. I was surprised to discover that the hive was stolen.

Hope this helps,
Steven Tervort

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paul fishburn

6 months 27 days ago

Yes Steve, they are in a safe place. the box is basically a mini top bar hive (6 top bars lined with beeswax). I have covered the screened bottom so they will feel more secure. Would it be better to let then build some comb before I move them.
Thanks Steve,
Paul Fishburn

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It is not a bad idea to let them establish some comb. Once the bees are tending brood the chances of them absconding, due to moving the hive, diminishes completely. It is best to give them a chance to dedicate themselves to your swarm box. One to two days after you notice the swarm is plenty. The longest I have left mine out was a week. The shortest was almost right after the swarm entered the box. I haven’t had very many abscond for taking them too early, but I have had a few abscond. So, if I don’t absolutely have to move them right away, I prefer to give them a couple days.

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Colin maxell

1 year 2 months ago

Would bees not move Into a baited hive at ground level

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They will move into boxes at ground level, but they choose hives that are higher more often. There was a study done by Cornell University about bait hives. They tested many variables including the height and size of boxes. The height they suggested is 15 feet. The article is very informative and a must read for those interested in getting started and increasing their chances catching swarms.Click Hereto see the article.

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Bob France

1 year 7 months ago

I want to start Bee Keeping
live in Germany.
making Swam traps
all New putting in lemon grass oil In my Orchad
Never done this before any advice any one??
thank you
Bob

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Bob, I am wondering if you are placing the Lemon Grass Oil in the hive or just in the orchard? The general idea is to place a few drops of lemon grass oil into the hive you want the bees to enter. This will imitate the queen pheromone and attract scout bees to your trap. I am a little late responding to you. I would be interested to know how this year worked out for you and if you caught any swarms.

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gail knight

2 years 8 months ago

I have a big question that I did not realize even needed answered until now. I have a swarm trap on my back porch roof (I live in Gainesville, FL). Wonder of wonders…today I have bees! I may have had them for a few days now. Not much activity in and out, but definitely some. How long should I leave them in the trap before I move them to their permanent home? I must add that it is to get down to upper 30s tonight, and then we are to have several days of rain. I might now have a great day to move them until 5 days from now. Will that be bad? Thanks for your attention, G

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It really depends on what kind of trap you have. If it is a 5 frame nuc box with drawn comb, or frames of foundation, they can stay in there for quite a while before they need attention. If it is a hive that has no frames in it, like a peat-pot swarm trap, or a box of some kind, then you may want to get them out as soon as possible. It is easier to move them early, so you don’t have to deal with cutting the comb and attaching it to frames. New swarms build up fast, but 5 days should not be a problem. You want to give the swarm a little time to settle in and get acquainted with their new home anyway. Hope this helps, and good luck with your new bees!

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